Mrs Esther Adebamowo, the Iyaloja of Olugbede Market, Egbeda, in Alimoso Local Government Area of Lagos State, said the market had been without electricity since December last year.
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In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos, the market leader appealed to Ikeja Electric to restore electricity to the traders for the smooth operation of the market.
“Our electricity has been disconnected since they brought us a commercial meter which was giving us crazy bills in December last year.
“We complained severally but all to no avail; the crazy bills was something we couldn’t cope with and eventually the whole market has been in darkness,” she said.
The market leader explained that the traders asked Ikeja Electric to provide the market with prepaid meters so that they could pay for their electricity consumption, but it was rebuffed.
“We need electricity to preserve our perishable goods because the cost of running generator is too high and makes things unnecessarily expensive; so, we need to resolve this power issue now,’’ she said.
The Iyaloja identified flooding during rainy season as another major problem facing traders at the market.
“We know the rain is important for farming, but the after effect is not pleasant; we need to find a lasting solution to this incessant flooding of our market.
“Shops are flooded, goods worth thousands of naira are destroyed in the process, which is not something we are happy about,” Adebamowo said.
The market leader appealed to the relevant authorities to come to their aid to enable them do their business without incurring unnecessary losses.